Want to know what Responsible Marketing is about but don’t have the time to read our white paper on the topic?
Well, here’s “The 7 Keys to Responsible Marketing in 2 Minutes,” featuring the characters you’ve grown to love (or hate) in our Responsible Marketing web shorts.
There ya go—with a video that short, now everyone has time to learn about Responsible Marketing. Share away. 
An intriguing question was posed by Tim Somers via LinkedIn the other day and I’m curious to see what you think.
Here’s his question:
Would using a greeting card to promote Earth Day go against what Earth Day is all about even if the cards are made with recycled materials?
I asked a similar question regarding holiday cards at the end of last year, but the fact it’s for Earth Day adds a new wrinkle.
So what do you think of using recycled printed cards to promote Earth Day?
Image: Kleefeld on Comics
Is green marketing responsible?
Not always.
Sometimes it’s just the opposite—it’s irresponsible, deceptive and wrong when it’s greenwashing.
The fact is, most Americans say green advertising is nothing more than just a marketing tactic.
Consumers are savy—just because a marketer claims it doesn’t mean they’ll believe it.
So why go green?
Well, because it’s the right thing to do—and mark my words—eventually every company will be required to conduct business in an environmentally responsible way.
So why not do the right thing now instead of waiting? Why not keep up with the competition—maybe even beat them to the punch—by becoming the company that owns green in your category?
And if you think the economy will keep customers from paying more for an environmentally responsible product or service, think again.
A recent survey has shown that 82% of consumers are still purchasing green products during the recession.
Green marketing may not always be responsible, but greening your product, service and company is.
So what are you waiting for?
At least, that’s the question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately.
We printed and mailed holiday cards to key clients and sent digital versions to friends of the firm and the folks we communicate with regularly in social media circles.
But I wasn’t sure if should send printed holiday cards.
Every card we sent had a carbon footprint: Printing uses energy, and though we print green every one of those cards traveled by truck, and some by plane to ultimately end up the reception desk somewhere, to be hopefully recycled sometime between today and January 2nd.
Still, digital holiday cards just don’t feel as usable or special to me. Even the really cool ones. Color me old-fashioned.
When we’re doing marketing strategy and planning for our clients, we ask the same questions. With shrinking budgets, should we consider a simple PDF instead of that printed brochure or flyer? At certain volumes, multimedia and video are an option, as well.
But if you are trying to build trust, just how permanent does a PDF feel?
It would be easy for me to create a table that lists the advantages of print vs. digital—and I’ll do that eventually.
But I’d like to know what you think.
What do you believe the advantages of print vs. digital are, and vice versa.
Comment below to share.
Image: Wikipedia Commons
Great packaging can be the difference between success and failure for some products. As marketers, it’s our responsibility to make sure the products we are marketing are packaged in a way that merchandises well, is easy to display, and showcases its best features on the shelf—especially when stacked up against the competition.
Creative packaging reinforces and in some cases is the primary contact point for a brand. Unique shapes, sizes, formats, structures and materials are all in the mix when you want your product to stand out in the crowd and get people talking.
But as marketers, we’re also responsible for the perception of our brand—and most consumers hate excessive packaging. The fact is, excessive and frustrating packaging gets people talking too.
Here’s a product we received from Amazon.com today. What do you think when you see this?
The world’s smallest wireless mini USB adapter came in a box 25 times larger than necessary, and the Amazon box the product package came in was at least three times larger than it needed to be.
While I’m picking on Amazon, they are actually working to address the problem with Frustration-Free Packaging:
Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging, a multi-year initiative designed to alleviate “wrap rage,” features recyclable boxes that are easy to open and free of excess materials such as hard plastic clamshell cases, plastic bindings, and wire ties. The product itself is exactly the same—we’ve just streamlined the packaging.
Sure, the list of Frustration-Free products is small, but at least Amazon is engaging customers in the conversation by giving them the opportunity to share their images and videos of frustrating packaging experiences in their Gallery of Wrap Rage while clearly stating their environmental commitment.
I hope packaging absurdities like the one we witnessed today will become a thing of the past, but kudos to Amazon for taking a step in the right direction. That said, I’ll reserve the right to “un-kudo” them in the future if they act too slowly.
Will reduced packaging hurt merchandising? Possibly, but not for online purchases.
Should marketers be responsible for the amount of packaging used on a product? If we care about your brand perception and the environment, I say yes.
Enough of what I think.
What do you think of the reduced packaging versus merchandising dilemma?
Comment below to share.
